November 2009

Posted by Jace, UST freshman, Catholic Studies, Secondary Education, and Theology
The signs of waking up bright and early with the sun shining, the briefcases packed, and the charter bus waiting was the tip-off to an adventure of a lifetime! The Notre Dame Conference was the calling of a large sum of eager participants seeking knowledge in philosophy. Even though the trip towards South Bend, Indiana was suppose to take eight to nine hours, the cozy and warm welcoming twelve to thirteen hour bus ride (due to a flat tire) was a place of fellowship and the games ‘ninja,’ and ‘mafia.’ Beginning the trip off with this unique type of fellowship was stupendous because bonds that were made with several that continue to flourish. The conference started out with a bang, whether it was Michael Novak, Alice von Hildebrand, or numerous of other very intellectual philosopher’s, the Tommie students were “mind-blown” and yet our babbling mouths would not stop talking about what we’ve just learned. With this Notre Dame couldn’t have been a better campus, whether it be the grotto, the stadium, or (my favorite) the marvelous ‘Touchdown Jesus,’ Tommies were in awe at the beauty that this school had to offer! The fellowship flourished on the trip back, even though some games were permitted to play… the students of St. Thomas gained many experiences, much knowledge, and a unique fellowship that was taken back to our home, University of St. Thomas.

Posted by Ellie, UST Sophomore, Psychology, Music, and Catholic Studies
How many times do we leave a gathering thinking,“ well that was fun”, but yet are left with an underlying feeling that somehow there was an element of meaninglessness in the way we spent our time. As soon as I walked into the beautiful new Albertus Magnus chapel to begin the first Catholic Studies community night, I knew this would be a very fruitful gathering. The mass was beautiful, with not an empty chair to be had. Following mass, we all piled into the gathering space, definitely challenging the room’s capacity, to listen to Father Laird’s powerful reflection on Mary and her role in our lives. After joining together in raising our thoughts to the call to receive our Lord and His will in ourselves, we shared in a most delicious Italian meal and had the opportunity to discuss this reflection. The whole evening had its focus on Christ and the meaning our lives have when we live in communion with our brothers and sisters, imitating our mother, Mary. I can’t believe that anyone left our gathering without a feeling of true fullness and nourishment which was rooted in the fellowship, support, and community experienced, but definitely not hindered by the wonderful pasta!

Posted by Renee, UST Graduate Student, Master of Arts in Catholic Studies
Good morning from the Catholic Studies Women’s House! We just got back from 7 AM Mass and had breakfast together. My name is Renee Burke-Drazba and I am a first year graduate student from Boston, Massachusetts. My roommates are Marisa Wachtel, who is a senior and Abby Saffert and Joan Hendrick, who are sophomores. We go to daily Mass together every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Community life is great! Although we have very different schedules, we get lots of time to hang out and have fun.
There’s no typical day in the Women’s House. Marisa, Abby and Joan all have classes during the day and since I’m a graduate student, all of my classes are in the evening. The one night that we take off is Wednesday night. It is our community night. We rotate each week who cooks dinner-this week, Joan made tacos and Texas sheet cake, which is a super rich chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Dinner usually gets a little loud because we usually spend more time laughing than eating. After dinner, we pray a rosary together. At the beginning of the year, we wanted to choose a patron saint for our household. We chose Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, the patron saint of the pro-life movement. She was a woman who loved God and showed it by taking care of her family and by committing her daily actions to Him. We are learning more about her life together as a household and pray to her daily.
Between all the homework we have and part time jobs, we always find time to hang out and have fun. We go out for ice cream, watch movies, take trips to Coffee Bené (which is practically across the street!) and spend time with the men who live in the Catholic Studies Men’s House. Tuesday nights we watch Pride and Prejudice at their house and invite people who don’t live in the houses. I just ran my first 5K last weekend at Lake Harriet and although Joan was out of town, Abby and Marisa came to cheer me on! It’s great to know that I live with women who I can rely on, who support me and that I can have fun with.
The house we live in is so warm and cozy. We are so blessed that all the furniture was provided for us. Abby and Joan share a room with a separate office in it and Marisa and I have our own rooms. We have a huge backyard and our neighbors yellow lab, Daisy, has become the unofficial mascot of our house. She barks when we come home and loves attention. We have lots of living space and love to have people over. It’s such a blessing to live in a house that’s practically across the street from campus and it certainly feels more like home than an apartment or dorm.
That’s it for now! Come stop by and say hi if you are ever in the neighborhood. We’d love to see you!